Rebellion in the Franxx
by TheSilentOwl
Summary: A retelling in which Hiro, Code 016, fights back against his so-called "leaders." There is no VIRM, only revolution.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hello I'm TheSilentOwl, and this is my attempt to make the second half of Darling in the Franxx better. I'm not the greatest at writing Fanfiction, as my skill relies more on original writing with original characters.

For the sake of context and understanding the general idea of this story is to implement an actual rebellion between Hiro and the rest of APE. In this timeline VIRM does not exist, and the war is purely between the Klaxosaurs and the Humans.

The story also aims to answer some things in better ways, such as the effect of Yellow Blood Cells,The Saurification process, magma energy and how it works.

One last disclaimer: I'm not Olcon, who, in my honest opinion, is way better at this whole fanfiction thing. I simply wanted to take a different aspect on the whole plot in general. I haven't read everything out of his work (Mastermind in the Franxx) but any similarities are purely coincidental.

 **This story is going to be rated M for some obvious reasons, but for the most part will be kept in similar line with the provided style of the original work. So that means some serious innuendo at times, maybe even a Freudian slip.**

* * *

Hiro didn't forget much. Life in Squad 13, at Misteltein, had always been enough, he had always felt content despite the fact that life had become a repetitive boring cycle of fighting, eating, and sleeping. Perhaps he didn't forget much because there was never anything truly memorable. He never expected to be angry at the powers that be, or their decisions. Their decisions which turned him from a person, to a mere pawn in a war. Being a mere tool wasn't a revelation he expected to have, it was his life, he just accepted it as it had been presented to him. His happiness came in the form of piloting the Franxx, being useful was good enough. It hadn't ever occurred to him that something dear to him had been erased, something so invaluable that he almost couldn't bear to think of it. It was a change in a life so standard that he found himself, like in that memory, clawing for every foothold towards it. It was the kind of thirst he expected to never have; it was certainly a thought he never expected to cross his mind as the cockpit of Strelizia darkened as the HUD and all of its accompanying instruments and flashing lights dimming faintly to their "standby mode." Zero Two straightened out of her normally assumed position, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she stared at her hands in horror.

"Wha- what have I done?" she mumbled as she continued to stare at the white palms of her gloves.

"Get away from him you bitch!" a voice pierced through, which Hiro recognized as the sound of an infuriated Ichigo.

It was an odd series of events, Strelizia collapsed to the ground, and to Hiro it sounded like something important had been ripped free. His vision faded slightly, and he was just able to make Zero Two's anguished face out in the ever darkening cockpit.

"Zero Two… I remember, the book… everything."

"Da-darling," she scrambled over to him, the sound of his voice seemingly having snapped her out of her state of shock, "I'm so sorry, I- I didn't mean to, I-I... " She stopped mid sentence, panic and anxiety washing over as she instinctively brought her finger up to her face, nervously biting it as she only had remembered doing once before. Hiro's body fell limp against hers and she whispered in his ear after a moment, "please don't let me go, not again."

Goro stood awkwardly as his partner, Ichigo angrily yanked at the manual release handle for Strelizia's cockpit. Or rather, he stood awkwardly as Ichigo angrily struggled to turn the large military grade lever that, in all probability, was the least maintained thing on any of the FranXX. All of this not being helped by the fact that her arm hung limply at her side, her shoulder bizarrely poking through in an unnatural positon. He sighed as he gently nudged Ichigo aside, being careful not to touch the bad shoulder, and heaved on the handle, the sound of several metal tumblers moving in a cacophonous manner, the various clunking and clicking reverberating around the inside of Strelizia's head, drowning out the faint murmurings of conversation he could hear before. Ichigo, not hesitating for a moment, barged inside pulling a catatonic Zero Two off of Hiro, yelping in pain as she threw every ounce of strength into separating the two. Goro caught Zero Two as she stumbled backwards, tears still streaming down her cheeks. He looked perplexed at the two in their given states, Hiro and Zero Two seemed almost inseparable. "What the hell happened?" he mumbled to himself as Ichigo frantically called out to Strelizia's comms systems, "Chlorophytum get help!"

* * *

Hiro awoke to the peering eyes of Zorome, Miku, Goro, Ikuno, Futoshi, Kokoro, and Mitsuru staring down at him in varying states of concern. Everything on him hurt, from his head to his toes, he was enveloped in a dull throbbing pain. He figured that he was on some sort of painkiller, as he couldn't really think straight past the pain and the one other presiding thought in his head; Zero Two. They needed to talk, about everything, every crucial detail.

"He's awake Ichigo," Miku's voice, despite all apparent efforts, still managing to cut through the silence with its inherent high pitch.

Hiro stirred a small amount, only now realizing that a mask had been placed over his face to ensure that he lived. He began to pull it off his face as Zorome, never knowing when to keep it down loudly stated, "Hiro's awake! See told you he would be okay, you all had nothing to worry about!"

As Hiro breathed in the stale air of the infirmary interior the memories came rushing back, no longer inhibited by the painkillers he had been breathing in just a second ago. The red skinned girl with the horns, the book, all of it. As Ichigo ran over he realized what he had experienced when he first met Zero Two, it was a word he had lost meaning to with the memory, it was love.  
"Hiro," Ichigo said worriedly as she peered over the side of the bed much the same way as everyone else, "a-are you okay?"

"I feel fine," said Hiro as he strained to sit up stretching as he did so, "where's Zero Two?"

"We…" started Ichigo, "we decided that it would be best if you two didn't see each other for a little bit."

"I need to see her."

"You don't need to see her," said Ichigo, a small hint of a frown creeping on her face, "you need us, not her."

"Ichigo, it's important to both of us," Hiro shot back, "that's not for you to decide, and I know it was you that decided it."

"Nana and Hachi said that this last encounter started something in your body called Saurification," Ichigo blurted out, earning a slightly frustrated look from Mitsuru. Obviously that was a snippet of information that was supposed to be kept under wraps. "Do you wanna be like her? Like a monster?"  
"She isn't a monster."

"She tried to kill you!"

"It was an accident, a misunderstanding," Hiro raised his voice.

"Was this a misunderstanding?!" Ichigo shrieked, pointing to her arm which lay limply in a sling, "she hurts so many people, you aren't the only one."

Hiro began getting out of the infirmary bed, deciding that it would be a better use of his time to simply ignore Ichigo and go directly to Zero Two, as he yanked the IV out of his wrist he struggled against the now increasing pain to pull himself up and over the sideboards of the bed, "if you want to be angry at her, fine; but you don't know what I know."

"I know she tried to kill you," said Ichigo, "she's a threat to everyone around her, she kills people with a sense of normality that isn't human."

It was an accident, an event that was for the most part mainly out of their control. Dr. Franxx had erased their memories, degrading both of them to a level far below human. It made him angry, frustrated. The feelings he evoked during those memories were the only genuine moments of happiness he could ever say he had felt. It was a happiness so real that it made his life look like a lie. Hiro had been robbed of that, given a sad excuse as a replacement. Hiro dove over the edge of the bed, landing on his hands and knees. He stood up, wobbly on both legs before choosing his words carefully, "I don't care anymore; people telling me what to do, you trying to control me… no I'm talking to her."

"Hiro we care," Ichigo began, "just lis-."

"If you truly care," Hiro spat, "then let me see her."

"Leave him alone," said Mitsuru as he yawned, seemingly quite bored of the whole situation, "if he wants to die a stupid, meaningless death, then let him… I've already experienced first hand what that creep can do."

"She isn't a creep," Hiro replied, "I'm pretty sure you knew what you were getting into."

Ichigo started to reach out to Hiro's shoulder, but Goro stopped her, allowing Hiro to limp out of the infirmary room. "It isn't your fight, Ichigo…" he said calmly.

"But she's not even one of us," said Ichigo, "I don't see Ikuno or Miku with horns sprouting from their heads."

"She's been fighting with us for months," Futoshi piped up through a half eaten mouthful of bread, "I like her on the team."

Miku nodded at this, "I really don't mind her, those two are kinda cute."

"Not to mention that it would be terrible to see the two apart," Kokoro mumbled.

"Don't you all care about Hiro?" asked Ichigo, turning the atmosphere in the infirmary room into a confrontation more heated than before.

"We do," Ikuno shrugged, "which is why we're letting him go."

* * *

Zero Two pressed her back into the door; she hated herself now more than ever. Hiro was her Darling. Her Darling which she had promised to be with. "How could I do something so stupid?" she thought to herself. She reached up and gently touched her horns, the ends of them jabbing back into her fingers as a further reminder of what she was pretending to be. She had broken the mirror, when she realized she had started reverting to what she sought to escape. Now she hated herself for doing so, it was her only gift from him, her Darling, and she had smashed it. Tears began rolling down her face again as she buried her head into her knees.

Hiro stumbled to the door, he knew the one. As he struggled to compose himself, through the wheezing of his own breathing, he could hear Zero Two weeping inside. He had made it, she hadn't run off anywhere. He didn't bother to knock, simply opting to stand there and speak through the door. "Zero Two," he began, his voice hoarsely calling out, bouncing off the silent walls of the dormitory attic, "I used to live to pilot, to be free of this place."

Zero Two's head jerked up, Hiro was right behind her; her Darling hadn't forsaken her. She couldn't move, she was afraid; in that moment in time, the only place she could find sanctity was in her room, with her gift. The gift that she now cherished so much more.

"I don't think I really know what living is," Hiro continued as he leaned on the wall across from the door. He was tired, the short walk up from Misteltien's infirmary to the dorm was exhausting. At the same time he wasn't going to quit, but just sit down for a second to regain what little strength his now severely worn down body could muster. "I really don't think I know what life would be without you, so could you please come out."

Zero Two shakily reached up, grabbing the door handle as a small handhold to hoist herself up. He was out there, separated only by this over-glorified plank of wood. She needed to get to him, a need that couldn't be stopped by anyone.

"I'd sacrifice everything for you, including my humanity."

The door slammed open, revealing Zero Two with her face messed up, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she immediately dove down to her Darling.

"You don't hate me?" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I understand everything now," Hiro said softly as he felt her tears soak into the infirmary shirt he was wearing; he took some time to stroke the long locks of soft pink hair that splayed out around her before speaking once more, "I get why you want to be human… and I know what they did to you."

"Finding you was the only thing that kept me going," she said, "I thought you weren't him, but you will always be my Darling."

* * *

 **Afterword** : I know this was a short chapter being only about 2k in words. I still have a lot on my mind on where I want the story to go but it will simply be a longer run than the anime. Which I hope is a good thing. If you enjoyed everything thus far and think it looks promising in the long run consider supporting my : TheSilentOwl

See you next time!


	2. Rebellion in the Franxx Chpt 2: Changes

**Author's Note:** Alright here we go again, welcome back to Rebellion in the Franxx, no rebellion yet unfortunately. But on the bright side this thing is 4,856 words before this note. Which means its about as long as the average book chapter, yay!

 **Disclaimer:** This story is rated M as there will possibly be innuendos, Freudian slips, and hell I might even put a couple of (Dino) baby making scenes in here.

Please forgive any spelling errors, I'm a one man team and not perfect.

* * *

Goro took off his glasses, smiling at the lack of smudges or scratches on the lenses as he put them down, much like he did every night. It had been a rollercoaster of a day. The rest of the day had been him making sure Hiro didn't die from heat stroke with Zero Two sitting constantly at his side asking if he was okay. He wished his relationship was like that, but every day it seemed that his dream of that ever happening grew further and further away. He didn't know why Ichigo was unfortunately infatuated with Hiro, he couldn't place his finger on it; sure, Hiro wasn't a bad guy, but that couldn't be the whole story, could it? Why couldn't it be him? What did he do wrong? Hiro coughed in the bunk next to him, and Zero Two peered down at Hiro, her Darling.

He had gotten fond of her pet name for Hiro, mostly because it also stood as another reminder of what he couldn't have with Ichigo.

"Is Darling going to be okay?" asked Zero Two, a deep worry settling on her face for now what could only be the trillionth time.

Goro smiled, "he's been through a lot today, if you want I can teach you what to do if anything gets too serious."

"You'd do that?' asked Zero Two, her eyes seeming to brighten at the notion of being able to redeem herself.

Goro yawned, it was getting late, but he supposed that helping the two was the closest happiness he could find, "absolutely." Goro picked the glasses up, sliding them up on his nose as he popped his knuckles. "Where to start," he pondered as he looked at Hiro, who was struggling to sleep, "ah of course." Goro reached his out to Hiro's forehead, allowing the back of his hand to lightly brush against Hiro's skin.

"What's that do?" she asked.

"It's a really basic way of making sure someone doesn't have a fever," said Goro, "which is really bad if it lasts too long." Seeing the fretful look once again made him continue, "this is a sign that he's fighting Zero Two, and to put your mind at ease he doesn't have one."

She sighed, "this is still all my fault."

He could sense that she was about to break down again. Her personality had done a complete one eighty from what he had heard earlier that day. She had gone from cold and ruthless to miserable and warm in a matter of hours. He was almost surprised at the scene he had found when Hiro had passed out from the exhaustion, Zero Two had legitimately thought he had died; when he told her he hadn't, that he had simply passed out, she looked as if she could hug him. "When did she become so human?" Goro wondered as he shook his head. "People make mistakes all the time, none of us are perfect," he said reassuringly, "I've made a few in my lifetime." Of course he was referencing something she knew nothing about. When he had started regretting liking Ichigo he didn't know. All that he was aware of was his increasing sadness every time he was reminded of his goal.

"What's it like?" asked Zero Two, "living with mistakes?"

"It's hard," sighed Goro as he leaned back on the chair he had taken from the dining room, "sometimes you go on with total ignorant bliss, and other times it sits on your mind as a constant reminder."

"This is going to sit with me for a while," she mumbled as she slipped out of the top bunk, nervously biting the tip of her finger, "I don't want him to ever forgive me."

"You don't want him to?"

"No," she replied, "I don't deserve his forgiveness."

Goro shook his head again, slightly perplexed by this statement, "forgiveness isn't something that you decide you don't want; it's something given, like a gift."

"How do you figure that?"

"Look at it like this," said Goro as he picked up a small pitcher of water which was was still ice cold; he poured a small glass for himself as he continued, "if Hiro didn't love you, he would be calling you a monster much like Ichigo did; he wouldn't have sought you out even though he could barely walk."

"But that's the truth," Zero Two shuddered, "I am a monster."

"If it makes you feel better the only monstrous thing you do is slather bacon with honey," smiled Goro, "I agree with Miku, you two are pretty cute together, and his dedication is a testament to that."

"Miku said that?" asked Zero Two, "Code 390 said that?"

"Yeah," said Goro, "same with Kokoro, everyone likes you to a varying extent, it just is going to take more time with some of the others."

"What about… her?' asked Zero Two.

"Ichigo?"

"Yes."

"I don't know about her, I think she might resent you because she…" he trailed off. He didn't want to say it, he couldn't. In his mind that would only be affirming his fears. He glanced at Zero Two, who stared back with an aloof curiosity. "I don't think I should say…"

"I have nobody else to go to for this, you're his best friend."

Goro frowned, there really was no excusable way to get out of this, "I think Ichigo likes Hiro."

SIlence, save for the soft wheezing breaths coming from Hiro, filled the room. A deafening silence. Goro realized he had just admitted two things equal in weight. In one fell swoop he had managed to admit his worst fear, and at the same time he had just planted a seed of doubt into Zero Two's head.

"Oh," Zero Two said softly, staring down at the floor. It was impressive in a sad way how that word shattered the silence, every bit of depression condensed into that one word.

"He loves you though Zero Two," said Goro, "you've got nothing to worry about."

"You don't know that."

"He told me once," said Goro, "trust me, you're the dearest person to him."

"Do you love anyone?"

There was the crucial question, one he really had hoped wouldn't get asked. Faced yet again with no reasonable excuse, and not wanting to lie to Zero Two he took a deep breath, "Ichigo."

Once again that standstill of any sound filled the room.

"Does she know?" asked Zero Two.

"I told her when we freed Delphinium from the Gutenberg class that swallowed me," said Goro, "she brushed it off, as if my words were a joke."

Zero Two cocked her head, pausing in a moment of thought before smiling as sweet as the honey she poured on her bacon, "do you know why I love him?"

"He's your darling," Goro answered matter of factly, as if he knew the answer.

"He saved me," she said as she smiled more, "he showed me what the good in humanity looked like, he's the only person I've ever loved, my Darling is a one of a kind."

"You're right in saying that," said Goro, "I don't think any of us here would have sacrificed our lives just to pilot with one person." Goro wondered for a moment then, thinking back on his words. Saurification, Nana and Hachi told him along with the rest of the squad about it. They told them that he might be changing on a molecular level. "Zero Two," asked Goro, "what is it like, being half klaxosaur?"

She sat, contemplating the question for a moment, "not much, I heal a little faster, and that's about it… it's what look like that I hate." She looked up at Goro for a moment before continuing her onslaught of questions, "why do you ask?"

"No reason," Goro blurted out, opting not to tell her that Hiro might just become the same as her, "was just curious; we should let him get some sleep, are you going to stay here for the night?"

"Is that okay?"

"It's fine," Goro replied, "you deserve to be near him."

* * *

Goro woke up with the full expectation that Hiro wouldn't be up and about the next morning. The case wouldn't be further from the truth. Hiro was up and about, and frantically asking Goro something. The words to Hiro's query being lost to Goro's ears. He had just woken up, couldn't he wait?

"Goro," Hiro said in a panic as he shook him awake, "Goro!"

"Wha?" Goro sputtered as he squinted through the bright glare of light streaming from the window above his head.

"Goro do you know what happened to Zero Two?"

"No?"

"She's missing, I don't know where she is."

Goro rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, slowly pushing himself up from the soft bed sheets which he already wished he could return to. He put his glasses on before standing up, "she was in the bunk above you last night."

"She's not there."

"Weird, lets go get everyone else, we're going to look for her."

"What, just like that?"  
Goro looked at his slightly diminutive friend, noting the surprise in his face. "We'll get everyone who wants to help, it's Mistelteinn, she can't have gotten far."

"Thanks Goro," said Hiro, placing a hand on his shoulder.

They had decided to meet up in front of the Dormitory, Goro had pulled everyone he could to search for Zero Two. Of course, as to be expected, Ichigo had opted out of the search party. Goro sighed, another reminder of his failure.

"We're all here," said Ikuno, "what do you need?"

"We should split up in teams of two," said Hiro as he shifted impatiently on his feet, "I'll go with Goro, Kokoro with Mitsuru, Miku with Zorome, and Ikuno with Futoshi; does that work for everyone?"

A chorus of affirmation sang back to Goro as he stood idly by waiting to head out with Hiro. They were in the same situation in a way. The only similarity being that their partners were missing from the group. After that their similarities stopped, leaving them in totally unique positions.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah," said Goro, "are you sure you're going to be fine?"

"I feel great," said Hiro.

"Last time you told me that you nearly died in the cockpit of Strelizia."

"I'm not lying," said Hiro, "honestly."

"Alright," said Goro as they began walking around. He had no idea as to where to go but was instead following Hiro, who had already started them towards the lake. Goro didn't go there much, he prefered staying near the Dorm, sometimes kicking the ball they had around with Zorome. The lake was very much Hiro's domain.

"Same question to you, Goro."

Goro looked up, realizing he had been merely staring at the ground in front of him, watching his feet move one after the other autonomously, "eh, I guess I'm okay."

"You're hiding something."

"Huh?" he said recoiling in surprise, "what do you mean?"

"You look so… sad?"

"Sad?"

"Yeah," said Hiro, slowing down a tiny bit, "something happen between you and Ichigo?"

"It isn't important," Goro put on a smile, "let's go find Zero Two."

"Well if you don't want to tell me I won't force you."

"She's doing pretty badly," Goro let slip, "Zero Two that is."

"What do you mean?"

"She's going through some guilt… I think that's the word you would use to describe that."

"Guilt, for what?"

"For trying to kill you."

Hiro sighed, "I told her it was okay, it was an accident."

"I tried the same thing when you were asleep, sorry if I spoke out of line," said Goro as they popped through the woods on the other side, finding Zero Two dozed off underneath a tree, "that being said, I don't think she has ever felt guilt before." Goro paused for a moment to mull over and choose his words as delicately as possible, "She killed all her previous partners without hesitation before, maybe it never crossed her mind?"

"Maybe," said Hiro as he kneeled down next to Zero Two, "hey, Zero Two."

She jumped slightly, the violently cyan discs of her eyes reflecting the blue dome above Mistelteinn, she sat for a moment, taking a deep breath before finally speaking, "hehe, you're on your knee, you going to propose?"

Goro was, just like Hiro, slightly taken aback at the sudden light hearted joke. He was half expecting the same depressed and guilty half-hearted talk from the night before. He shook his head, they would be fine. His problems were his own.

* * *

Dr. Werner "Franxx" Frank stood impatiently as the Sages and Papa lectured him on the servitude of humanity and what the military objective of capturing the Gran Crevasse was for. Of course, at this point he had already tuned himself out, having mastered the technique years and years ago; a skill aided by the cranial implant that allowed him to temporarily cut off all sensory input from certain parts of his body. The Gran Crevasse, a large gathering of Klaxosaurs ranging from anywhere from Conrad to Gutenberg-class stood as humanity's "only hope" in Papa's eyes "Yeah, right," thought Dr. Franxx, "what a joke."

The Gran Crevasse in his opinion, stood as nothing more the pointless slaughter of the children and his Franxx, especially with the lack of reconnaissance which was only a result of the Sages' tactical ineptitude. It was also a needless expenditure of energy, munitions and their only real weapons in the war. The plan even called for the use of plantations as a rear echelon buffer. A move that made the use of them as safe havens for the rest of humanity a moot point. Dr. Franxx felt that if he really wanted to, he could devise a much less bloody battle plan in his sleep. But as much as he could, it wasn't his job. His skills belonged in the lab, making babies in test tubes, making the pilots to his machines of war.

"Are you listening, Dr. Franxx?"

Werner looked up, the ocular implant that replaced his right eye now listing the transcript of their very one sided conversation back to him. "Of course I was, I fully understand what you are asking of me."

"Good, your transport to Cerasus has already been made ready," said one of the Sages, "if even the slightest shred of evidence presents itself you are to convert Code 016 into a second klaxo-human hybrid… no matter the cost."

Werner nodded, "understood."

The screens presenting him Papa and the Sages mercifully shut off, leaving Werner with only the silence and occasional puff of air from the filters. "Useless bastards," he grumbled. Part of him wished he could do more, wished he didn't need to be limited by the bureaucracy of the people who orbited safely from station Cosmos, he had taken the job way back when APE was nothing more than the Lamarck club because it allowed him to expand his research. Now, years into the war, he was stuck again. Werner found himself standing at the transport ship that would take him to Cerasus, Plantation 13. Nana stood at the large ramp to the ship, being sure to keep her back to the safety of the bulkhead; avoiding getting groped by him again seemed to be her highest priority.

"Does he know?" asked Werner as he glided up the ramp into the ship, his cane clicking on the metal surface.

"Does who know?" asked Nana, confused at the question that had come without context.

"The boy, Code 016," Werner clarified, "does he know what is happening to him?"

"No, I told his squad mates with the hopes that they would break the news to him…"

"Bah," Werner said, waving a hand of disdain, "he's turning into something similar to the girl, what a marvelous outcome; albeit it is a bit unexpected."

"We don't know if it results from the piloting, or if it is from… what was it again?"

Dr. Franxx paused for a moment, allowing the initial rush of the magma turbines to pass before answering, "Ingesting her blood."

"Right," Nana said, "but we do know it's happening at a decently rapid rate, the top of his skull is beginning to calcify with Klaxosaur DNA signatures."

"So he'll have horns," said Werner, touching his metal chin in a gesture of thought, "I wonder what else."

"It may be possible for him to become inducted into the Nines at this rate," said Nana, "assuming his Saurification is accelerated as outlined by Pap-."

"Forget them for a second," interrupted Werner who was now slightly miffed at the mention of Papa.

"What are you thinking Dr. Franxx?" asked Nana.

"Assuming that there was a mutation occurring throughout his entire body turning him from human to Klaxosaur, that would mean his DNA would be viable for reproduction," said Werner, in a manner altogether too fast for Nana to really understand, "which would enable him to be the forefather of a new species of Klaxosapiens."

"Are you trying to tell me you _want_ him to become a Klaxosaur; you're not actually doing this whole thing begrudgingly?"

"I am," said Werner, a sadistic smile on his face, "once again, my priorities fall in line with those… people."

Nana exhaled, "it never ends with you, does it?"

* * *

Hiro was something beyond enraged. Hiro was enraged because he knew; he supposed that if he hadn't known his recently uncovered past with the doctor he wouldn't have felt this way.

"You sack of shit!" Hiro yelled as he entered the small testing room that he had been escorted into, causing Dr. Franxx to raise his one remaining eyebrow. He waited for the two guards to leave before replying, "I didn't think they taught the children language like that."

This comment only fueled Hiro's anger, he could _swear_ the old man would be smirking if he had a mouth. Then again, he of course didn't actually have half of his face, which just degraded the situation into something awkward as Hiro shot daggers at the doctor.

"Code 016," Dr. Franxx began, "I've reviewed your combat history with Code 002, and it is quite… impressive, the fight during the welcoming ceremony was a good gauge of your compatibility."

"Do you remember?" Hiro asked through gritted teeth, his anger increasing now with the doctor's nonplussed attitude, "do you remember what you did?"

Dr. Franxx paused for a moment, "yes, I do, I'll never forget."

"Then just understand that I'll never forgive you for what you did, you heartless bastard," Hiro exclaimed, "you, along with the rest of APE deserve to burn." Hiro stopped, realizing what he had just said was essentially a treasonous statement.

"Your opinion is your own, Code 016."

"My name is Hiro."

"Okay then, Hiro, I'll forget I heard what you just said if I may speak uninterrupted; I need to tell you something important."

"Important?" thought Hiro as he sat across the doctor, pushing the chair back slightly in an attempt to place as much distance between them as possible. He stayed silent and motionless, allowing the room to fill with the clicks and whirs of the various equipment in the room.

"I'll take your silence as a sign I should start," the doctor said. He began by pulling out a small notepad, the writing obscured from Hiro. "In your time before piloting, and I assume you remember from the questions you just asked me, did you ever remember feeling weird?" asked the Doctor, "perhaps scrapes and bruises from playing with your friends healed surprisingly quickly?"

"No I don't really remember," said Hiro.

"Do you remember ever going a long time without eating?"

"Not really?" Hiro hesitantly replied, "what's with these questions?"

Dr. Franxx's face contorted into something resembling a grin; only it was a grin that had no mouth, "you're showing signs of undergoing something called Saurification, which I thought was something only reproducible in a lab; it's nothing concrete yet."

"Saurification?" asked Hiro, recalling the same word that Ichigo had seemingly let slip when he had awoken in the infirmary.

"The act of turning a human into a Klaxosapien," explained Dr. Franxx, "Code 00-"

"Zero Two," interrupted Hiro.

"Zero Two is the only living example of it," said Dr. Franxx, "Klaxosaur DNA mutates the already existing human DNA, it latches on and changes the ordering of your very being, it acts like a parasite."

"Like a pilot?"

"No," Dr. Franxx shook his head; annoyed at the odd choice in name for the pilots of his creation, which he of course he hadn't decided, "a parasite in nature is an organism that attaches to another living creature; sometimes it can be good for both, sometimes it doesn't affect the host creature."

Hiro leaned in, a small spark of curiosity in his eyes.

"In other, more occurring instances," Dr. Franxx paused, "it permanently changes the host creature."

"And that's what Klaxosaur DNA does?"  
"Precisely."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I'm not sure yet, as I said before I don't really have any solid evidence; the blood test should prove whether or not it's actually happening," said Dr. Franxx, "I have an idea on what it might entail, but let us just say you might look like your partner very soon."

"I'll get horns?"

"That and possibly more," said Dr. Franxx, "I'll send for someone to take a blood sample, then you're free to go."

Dr. Franxx got up to leave, and was almost out of the door before Hiro asked one more question.

"Dr. Franxx," he began, "what you did to Zero Two and I, was it because you wanted to, or because APE ordered you to?"

Dr. Franxx paused, the metallic half of his face gleaming in the bleach white room, "I did it of my own volition; the Sages and Papa merely encouraged it."

* * *

Hiro found himself walking up the stairs, past his floor to the attic. He had only ventured here twice before, and the second time he couldn't really remember all that well; a side effect of having the life almost sucked out of him by his one true love. Interestingly enough, he had returned from the testing with two things he had never paid much mind to before; two critically important things. On his arm he had a small bandage wrapped around the site where they drew his blood; which in the grand scheme of things was the lesser of the two important things, and in his opposite hand he held two small candies wrapped in basic clear wrap. He stopped at Zero Two's door and knocked lightly. The door swung open immediately to reveal Zero Two in a loose fitting nightgown with her limiter band held in her hand. On the floor of the room laid some sheets of paper and a few normal pencils. Upon noticing these items scattered on the floor Zero Two yelped slightly and told Hiro to avert his gaze, which he dutifully did.

"What was that?" smiled Hiro.

"A present for later," said Zero Two, "okay, you can come in."

She had moved rooms. The last one being a grim reminder of how far gone she had been. This one was well lit and lacked the scars of the old one. It was comfortable, and a bit bigger. It harbored a newfound sense of warmth, although Hiro wasn't entirely sure on whether it was because Zero Two lived here, or because she had dolled the place up with flowers and various art pieces of Misteltienn's scenery. Whatever the case it felt homelier than the rest of the Dormitory combined. The only thing that showed signs of damage was the mirror that reflected oddly in the light with its spider web-like cracks. Her gift was the only indication of her hardship in that seemingly distant past. Though Zero Two still seemed to be cautious around him, Hiro hadn't ever felt better. Knowing about his past, knowing every detail of it filled him with joy. It made him happy to be with her. Life with her was pure bliss.

"So how was testing?" asked Zero Two as she sat down against a makeshift couch; that was just an amalgamation of various pillows, "everything go… okay?"

"Dr. Franxx was there," Hiro said the smile disappearing from his face, "he remembered."

"He did…" Zero Two's voice quieted, "did you get an answer from him?"

"Yeah."

"He did it because he wanted to, didn't he?"

"Reading my mind," said Hiro, "anyway I've got something for you."

"Ooh, what is it?"

"I can't tell you, and I can't show you either," teased Hiro, "say 'ahh.'"

She opened her mouth, just like in his memory as he plopped a small green candy on her tongue. The reaction wasn't the same as before, but it still sufficed. The smile plastered on her face was more than enough for Hiro. They sat in silence, enjoying the presence of each other as the sun slowly began to set.

* * *

Hachi stood impatiently with Nana, watching as the children filed into the briefing room one by one. In all fairness it was early in the morning, far earlier than any briefing had taken place. The last two to enter were Hiro and Zero Two, who weren't paying any mind to the large battle plan on the screen.

"If I could have all your attention," Hachi spoke over the low murmur of conversation emanating from the team, "a major operation is coming up within the next three hours; Papa has deemed the plantations and the Franxx ready to take the Gran Crevasse, taking this objective is his long standing wish." The room had fallen dead quiet now, even Zero Two and Hiro were paying attention, "Squad 13 will be riding out in the rear guard, your mission is to protect the Plantations that form the rear echelon buffer

Ichigo raised her hand, "will Code 002 be operating the squad for this operation?"

"No," said Hachi, "she, along with Code 016 will be temporarily detached from Squad 13 and assigned to the Nines."

"I didn't want Code 002 here for this operation, but why Hiro?"

"Code 016 is Code 002's official stamen; originally it was decided that only Code 002 be detached from the squad, but at the behest of Dr. Franxx they are to be considered, and I quote, 'an inseparable package.'"

Hiro raised his hand, "will this be the only operation where I'm detached from Squad 13?"

Not skipping a beat Hachi replied, "for the time being, yes; if Papa wishes for you to join the Nines, then preparations will be made for you to transfer out of Squad 13."

Hiro looked at the rest of Squad 13, who for the most part seemed happy for Hiro. All of them except for Ichigo.

"This concludes this briefing," said Hachi, "as of now you are all on mobilization notice, dismissed."

Everyone got up to go, Zero Two and Hiro being the first to leave. As the two walked down the hallway Ichigo's voice yelled down the hallway, "Hiro I need to speak with you... alone, privately."

"Privately?" Hiro asked as he turned to Zero Two, who nodded and pushed him towards Ichigo.

"Y-yes," she said, a small blush forming on her cheeks, "if everyone could go."

The rest of the squad willingly obliged their Squad Leader, all except Zero Two and Goro, who lingered just out of earshot as was planned. Goro had, on the day that Hiro had went in for testing, explained his situation.

"Hiro, I don't want you to go," said Ichigo, "I-I don't know what I would do without you, and I think… I think I love you."

"I appreciate it Ichigo," said Hiro, following the script in his mind, "but, I love Zero Two, and I couldn't just leave her behind for you, I'm sorry."

He had expected a multitude of things, being slapped, punched, or any physical abuse, but her breaking down and simply sobbing was not one of them.

"Look, I know it's hard," said Hiro as he rushed to assert himself in the conversation, "but other people still love you, you just have to take what they say to heart."

She took her time to respond, her breathing shaking as she tried to compose herself, "what makes her so much better?"

"Huh?"

"What makes her so much better than me," asked Ichigo, "is it because she kissed you, I can do that too."

Ichigo stood fool height, lips puckered. Hiro stepped back, letting her kiss the air rather than him, "no, it isn't something as small as that; I love Zero Two for reasons you couldn't possibly understand."

As he turned to walk away he heard Ichigo scream in jealousy, "is it just because she's not human?!"

"No," Hiro said as he rejoined with Zero Two, turning around one last time, "but it is a long story that I can't explain to you." The two of them passed by Goro and, almost in unison they both spoke, "good luck."

* * *

 **Afterword:** I'm sorry for the pseudo bitchigo kiss, please don't send me death threats. Planned release for next chapter is August 18th, 2018 a Saturday. If you like what you see here support me on (link on the Reddit post that probably brought you here)


	3. RitF Ch 3: Battle of the Gran Crevasse

**Author's Note** : Alright guys, sorry for the delay on this one, my job got busy and so did life, but here it is, the 3rd chapter of this story. As stated before I'm a one man team and some editing fuck ups slip past me.

 **Disclaimer** : this story is rated M for things to come in the future... that is all I'll say.

 **Other Disclaimer** : The names I used for the Seven sages (those are members of Papa's council) came from the Darling in the Franxx Wikia. I don't know if they're actually the names but, it's all I could find.

* * *

Faceless wasn't a word Hiro never expected to use to describe the Franxx. That being said he had only ever known Squad 13's Franxx in all of their color and unique weaponry. The ones that the Nines used were emotionless, lacking any semblance of humanity in their porcelain white faces. They had somehow even surpassed the dutiful, yet bored, look that encompassed the Franxx of the Plantation 26. It would be these faceless, cold, and unfeeling machines Hiro and Zero Two would be fighting alongside.

"Darling," Zero Two broke the silence as the lift they were riding stopped at the pilot's scaffolding, "are you ready?"

"Yeah," Hiro shrugged. He was about as ready as he would ever be; the Nines, as described by Nana in the few hours before the operation, were special forces unit. Hiro never expected to be fighting alongside the best of the best, and he didn't know what to expect. He had one job, and that was to support the Nines in this one operation, the fight of his life. He clambered into the cockpit of Strelizia, the closest thing to home on the battlefield

Zero Two leaned in and kissed him as he took his seat, "love you."

"Love you too," Hiro smiled.

As she placed her arms and legs in the holes of the pistil controls the inside of the Franxx came to life, the HUD began lighting up with various alerts telling Hiro that Strelizia was offline.

A voice crackled to life over the comms, one that sounded just like Nana, save for the fact that she addressed Hiro by code rather than name, "Code 016 you are cleared for startup."

"Understood Nana, but why m-," Hiro began to ask.

"Please, Code 016, keep questions relevant to the mission," she cut him off.

"Strange," Hiro thought, "she's never done that to me before."

Hiro clicked the buttons on the tops of the control wings, watching as Zero Two's face in all its beauty shrouded by the Paracapacity hood. As per usual both their numbers surged to the high end within a matter of seconds, and once again their minds became one, but only for a moment. Strelizia's magma driven turbines began to kick on, shooting out a small puff of exhaust from the skirt of jets at its waist before spooling down once again. The Paracapacity gauges momentarily faded away, revealing a small representation of Strelizia with several green checkmarks around it. They were all good to go.

"Nana," Hiro spoke, "Strelizia is all green, awaiting orders."

"Standby Strelizia," Nana replied, "you will be moving out after Nine Delta and Nine Epsilon."

"What?" Zero Two spoke in a mix of surprise and anguish, "we're going last in the line up?"

"Line up?" asked Hiro.

"The Nines fight differently from Plantation 13," Zero Two explained, "they use formations and tactics like no other plantation and they kill with extreme precision."

"What does that have to do with a line up?"

"It means we're on clean up duty… we get to see the least of the fighting," Zero Two sighed, "if I don't kill enough of them I can't be human."

Hiro wanted, right then and there, to reach down and wrap his arms around her, the only thing stopping him was the Franxx's need for paracapacity. He wanted to remind her that no matter what she looked like he would still love her.

"Squad," the voice of Nine Alpha spoke through the comm, its inherent conceited tone irritating both Zero Two and Hiro, "let's move out."

"Jeez, I can already tell this is going to be boring," Delta replied.

Hiro watched in the Hud as the faceless Franxx moved out in unison forming a line.

"Come on Zero Two," Hiro spoke softly, "we'll be alright."

* * *

Zero Two was right, sitting in the back of the formation was about as exciting as watching paint dry, it lacked everything that a fight should have, from the glamor to the gore. They had been burning fuel for only an hour, and none of hit had been for any real fighting. Hiro slumped in his chair, bored out of his mind as Nine Delta went soaring past him, talking about how boring it was. Which of course was enraging.

"Heads up Nines," Nana spoke with that uncharacteristic monotony that Hiro still couldn't wrap his head around, "A large mass of Klaxosaurs are moving out from the Gran Crevasse, Gutenberg-class along with some Moho-class, back up squads are being rerouted to assist you."

"We don't need it," Alpha shot back.

"Understood Nine Alpha," Nana replied, "the group is tracking out towards your east."

"Squad," Alpha said as he turned towards the rising sun, "let's go!"

Hiro felt the resistance in the controls, she didn't want to go. He felt he could push as hard as he wanted and nothing would come of it.

"Are you okay?"

"They're idiots," Zero Two groaned, "Gutenberg class Klaxosaurs and they're not even willing to pull back for assistance."

"We can help," Hiro said nervously, "but you're right."

Hiro thumbed the mic button on the controls, switching from the Squad back to Nana, "we'd like to find help with this threat Nana."

"Code 016," said Nana, "move forwards with your team, your squad leader has already rejected any offer for help; you're on your own now."

"Shit," cursed Hiro as he pushed Zero Two forwards, turning the microphone off as he did so, "we're on our own Zero Two."

"Time to school these idiots," she laughed.

Hiro could feel the controls switch their resistance, pushing forwards came with ease, and pulling back was a struggle; well, at least she was ready to go.

"Woah Zero Two slow down," Hiro spoke nervously, remembering the last time she had surged forwards out of control, "we should take a look at how the rest of the squad is doing."

"But Darling…" said Zero Two, the controls still not giving up in his hands.

"We need to take our time," said Hiro, "look ahead." In front of them the towering silhouettes of the Gutenberg class outlined the horizon as the sun shone just above them. Their shadows cast long along the dead soil that blew in eddies at Strelizia's feet. The Nines were already engaged and it almost looked like they were losing; the Moho class having swarmed them caught them off guard and they were severely outnumbered.

"We'll take the small ones out first," Zero Two shouted as she pushed Strelizia forwards, Queen's Pike at the ready.

"Sounds good to me," Hiro smiled. They cut through the first one effortlessly, then the second, and the one after that like a well-oiled machine. The flow of battle and the blue blood of the klaxosaurs surrounded them both; they felt invincible, like they could go on forever.

"Strelizia watch out!" Delta shouted from her position crumpled at the ground.

Hiro swiveled his head just in time to see the appendage of a Gutenberg class hit them full force, sending them tumbling across the scorched ground, dust kicking up around them as they finally came to settle. Hiro was dazed and for a minute all he could.

"Asshole," Zero Two grunted as Strelizia righted itself, "damn asshole…"

Hiro could feel her, he knew her, and he knew all he could do was prepare himself for what was to come; his grip tightened on the controls. Strelizia's jets kicked on and Hiro yanked back on the controls; now was not the time to be reckless.

"Darling don't hold me back!" Zero Two yelled back at him.

"We need support for this, there is no way we can take it and the rest of them out on our own," Hiro spoke calmly, "don't lose your head."

The Gutenberg was lumbering towards them now, as the rest of the Nines struggled to move away from them.

"Fall back!" Alpha shouted.

"Nana we need support squads rerouted to us," Nine Beta's ridiculously calm voice called out, "we are falling back."

"Do not fall back," Papa's voice suddenly filled the air, the Hud showing his masked face, "we cannot lose the Gran Crevasse."

"We're out numbered!" Hiro cried out, "we can't hold them off forever."

"Defend the flank," Papa commanded, "you do not have my permission to die."

"Permission to die?" Hiro thought, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on," Hiro shouted as he brought Strelizia back around, "we're getting out of here!"

"You heard Papa," Gamma said in a chillingly indifferent voice, "we aren't leaving."

"We're going to get killed out here!" Hiro retorted, "do you want to die?!"

"We won't die," said Beta, "Papa said we can't die."

"What the hell does Papa know?!"

"Papa knows everything," Epsilon replied, "don't you dare question his authority."

"His authority comes from miles above this battleground, our fight," Hiro spoke calmly, trying to hold back his anger, "we stay here, and we die."

"If you leave," Alpha said, "I'll be sure to have you and Iota reported."

"Fine," Hiro scoffed, as he pulled back on the controls, watching as Strelizia's jets obscured the nines in a cloud of dust.

"Where are we going, Darling?"

"We need to find every squad that we can pull from the rear guard," said Hiro, "or the nines all die."

"Okay," said Zero Two, "we should move fast."

Strelizia teared across the scarred battle ground, the remnants of recently deceased klaxosaurs and disabled Franxx scattered across the ground. Parasites in various states of confusion surrounded their disabled machines.

"This isn't going well," Hiro mumbled, gazing sadly at the parasites who lost their partner; after having seen what Squad 26 looked like, it made sense, they didn't know what death really was.

"Don't dwell on it, Darling," Zero Two reassured him, "we'll make them pay."

* * *

"Sitrep," Papa stated to the air of station Cosmos. Not a moment later the various Hachis appeared on the virtual screen in front of him.

"Papa," said one, "Squad 47 has suffered heavy losses, I need to pull them back and initiate a rescue attempt."

"Papa," said another one, "Squad 17 has been rendered combat ineffective, from their reports the front line is crumbling, it is in our best interest to pull our remaining forces back from the gran crevasse and regroup."

"Papa," a third one piped up, "Squad 33 remains in the rear echelon guard, we can move up and relieve the vanguard so they can regroup."

It was times like this that Papa felt extremely out of sorts, and most of the time the Hachis were correct in their assessment, but they couldn't pull back, now that they were so close. "How many of you have received severe casualties?" asked Papa.

Twenty of them replied back.

"All of you that have," Papa breathed in through his metal mask, "initiate protocol 32."

"Papa," said one Hachi, the one that was slightly more acute to tactics and strategy than the others, Plantation 13's Hachi, "this will leave the right flank mostly unguarded, this will result in more casualties."

"My order stands."

"Papa," said another one, "Plantation 26 is running out of fuel for our Franxx, may we be given more?"

"A battlefield kissing would be unwise," replied Plantation 13's Hachi, "as the large magma flows would redirect the hordes towards Plantation 26 and the rest of the rear guard."

"Plantation 26 tell your Franxx to hold back at the rear guard, we'll figure out the logistics of that later," said Papa, "the rest of you proceed with protocol 32."

"Yes Papa!" everyone replied as they blipped off his screen.

"We're losing our hold on this situation far faster than expected," the Vice Chairman turned to Papa, "perhaps we weren't ready?"

"Erase that thought," Papa shot back, "we will take the crevasse, at all costs; prepare for orbital bombardment."

"Orbital bombardment?!" Tarsier recoiled, "that would devastate the area and quite possibly wipe out all the plantations; please tell me you'll order a retreat if it comes to it."

"If the situation provides, then yes."

"I'll give the order," the Vice Chairman said as he lowered his seat to the floor.

* * *

"I wonder how they're doing out there," Zorome pondered as Squad 13 held fast in their defensive positions.

"They're probably okay," Miku replied to her partner, "or at least I hope they are."

"You're probably right," Zorome said, not so sure of his words. In the last hour they had seen Franxx from different plantation's limping home, some in stampede mode, some missing parts of extreme importance. It shook him on a level that was indescribable, "I just want to see them come home in one piece."

"I'm pretty sure all of us do," said Ikuno over the comms, "right?"

"Yeah," said Ichigo, "right…"

"Conrad Class on the left flank," Nana reported to all of them.

"Roger," said Mitsuru as he turned Genista towards the west, "I've got it."

"Hey come on Mitsuru," said Zorome as he began to push Argentea forwards, "let us have this one!"

"Where are you pushing me?!" Miku cried out, "I thought we agreed that you would be gentle with me!"

"Leave me alone I'm bored!"

Mitsuru rolled his eyes, "fine, go for it."

"Never change, you two," smiled Goro as he bowed his head in suppressed laughter.

"One fast moving contact, coming from the north east," Nana said over the comms, "heading directly for you."

"Fast moving?" asked Goro, "is it a Klaxosaur we haven't seen before?"

"Negative," Nana replied, "it's Hiro and Zero Two."

"Hiro?" Ichigo asked, "but he was deployed with the Nines?"

"Affirmative," Nana replied, "something must have gone wrong."

* * *

"Almost there Zero Two," Hiro strained as they continued racing towards squad 13, "just a little bit longer."

"Can we contact them?"

"Just out of range," said Hiro as he looked up at the comm line, which at that moment chose the perfect time to come alive with the sound of a confused Futoshi, "what's going on up there, Nana?"

"Guys," Hiro said, "we need you up front, we need everyone up there."

"Papa's orders were for us to remain here," said Ichigo.

"Papa's lost it," Hiro shot back, "and we're all going to die if we don't regroup our forces, the Klaxosaurs are just thinning us out."

"Code 016 is right," Hachi came over the comm, "I tried to explain this to Papa earlier, but we can't just defy his orders."

"If we don't 'defy his orders' he isn't going to get the gran crevasse," Zero Two exclaimed, "splitting up the field like this is just going to get Hiro and I killed."

Silence filled the frequency, everyone pausing to think about the implications of what Hiro and Zero Two had just said. If they did what he asked, they would be disobeying the person they had been born to serve. On the other hand, in a part of each of them they knew that Hiro was right; the entire fight for them had been spent fighting off the odd Conrad class and watching Franxx from the front lines barely make it back to their base.

"Alright," Hachi said, "Squad 13, prepare to move out with Strelizia, I will notify the rest of the plantations stationed here."

"But Papa's orders," Ichigo began to protest.

"I am overruling him on the basis that we are on the ground, and he is not."

"Well," Goro spoke up, "you heard him, let's go!"

* * *

"Sir," Marmoset spoke up, "several squads are breaking from their assigned positions, they seem to be moving in to assist the vanguard… or what's left of the vanguard."

"What?" Papa asked.

"It seems that the Franxx designated Strelizia is leading the charge."

"Which squads?"

"Squads 13, 26, 18, 42, 20, 33, and 10."

Papa opened his virtual screen, selecting the Franxx in the squads and Strelizia on a long list of contacts, "what are you doing, return to your posts immediately."

"We're going to die out here if we do," Hiro replied calmly, "if we all die out here then you aren't ever getting the gran crevasse."

"The gran crevasse will be captured, return to your post."

"All due respect," Hiro acknowledged, "you don't know what's going on down here… the carnage is indescribable; we're taking this matter into our own hands."

The comm clicked off, Hiro's face fading into the white walls of the room.

* * *

They rushed back to the battlefield in silence; an odd, ambiguous sense of dread spilling through them as they rode their way back to the gran crevasse. The looming tower of the Gutenberg class Klaxosaurs looming in the distance, but with one more addition to the group. In front of them, a large blade like klaxosaur rolled through the field of the dead.

"Super Lehmann Class klaxosaur ahead… holy shit," Nana spoke in a panicked yet hushed tone, almost as if she were afraid of alerting it to her presence in the safety of Mistelteinn's command center.

Her reaction to the klaxosaur was warranted, as the feeling of dread circling around the Franxx and their pilots lost its ambiguity, firmly planting and establishing itself in all of their minds.

"How are we expected to take that thing out?" Miku shrieked, the anxiety starting to set in with her as well.

"Stand by," Hachi spoke as calm as ever, "the plantations are formulating an artillery solution, reports state that its outer armor is a mere shell."

"I sure hope those reports are right," Ikuno grumbled.

"If they are Zero Two and I can take it out, but we need the rest of you to take care of those Gutenberg class.

A chorus of affirmation rang through the comms as the Franxx began to fan out in a wide arc, weapons at the ready.

"Solution set," Hachi spoke again, "rounds are inbound, brace for impact."

Hiro and Zero Two watched as the rounds from the plantation defense cannons streaked in exploding near the sides of the klaxosaur, shearing off its armor, which in reality happened to be a bunch of Conrad class glued to the sides of the Lehmann. It was a truly impressive display, the plantation cannons were never designed to kill a Klaxosaur, merely fend it off as the Franxx would scramble. Hiro took a deep breath as he watched the Conrad class fall around him like rain.

"Ready Zero Two?"

"Always, Darling."

"Let's do it!" yelled Hiro as he pushed the controls as far forwards as he could bear, the resulting burst in acceleration pinning him back to the seat. Zero Two moved Queen's pike directly in front of them, the long handle extending the tip of their spear half their length in front of them, aiming for the blue ball of klaxosaur blood which encased its core. For a moment, Hiro's screen turned a vibrant blue as they plunged through, before reemerging on the other side with the core impaled on the tip of their pike. They punched through the other side of the Klaxosaur's armor, the one area that hadn't been affected by the plantation fire, pushing the core further down on the weapon as they flew out of the other side coated in the Klaxosaur's blood. Small droplets falling to the ground as Strelizia landed effortlessly as the now lifeless Super Lehmann class teetered over, falling in slow motion before coming to rest in a large cloud of dust. As it began to clear Strelizia walked back into view of the rest of the squads, nonchalantly removing the core by flicking Queen's Pike.

"They did it," Mitsuru stared in mild disbelief, "they actually did it."

"It's Hiro and Zero Two," Ikuno said, "did you expect anything less?"

"It's still impressive," Kokoro agreed with her partner, "can't deny that."

"All remaining squads," Nana spoke, her confidence regained along with Hiro's fighters, "move in to eliminate the Gutenberg class, and cover Strelizia as they move in to eliminate the threat in the gran crevasse."

The combined force of Hiro's fighters moved forwards, passing by oblivious to a small crisis unfolding in Strelizia's cockpit.

* * *

"Dr. Franxx?" Nana spoke up as the rest of Hiro's army moved past him, "we've got an issue."

"Issue?" asked the old man, "what kind of issue."

"The strain of piloting in today's fight seems to have accelerated his saurification, far faster than you had predicted."

On the screen of the command center were two figures. Each diagram had a varying state of blue lines coursing throughout; Zero Two's side was registering half way, a result of her half klaxosaur and half human DNA. Hiro's had, in some astonishing fashion, surpassed Zero Two's by a solid twenty percent.

"Incredible," Werner looked at the screen, raising his hands up above him, the smile of a psychopath emerging on his face, "absolutely incredible."

"He may lose the ability to pilot Strelizia from the Stamen position, Dr. Franxx," Nana piped up over the doctor's rising maniacal laughter.

"Nonsense," Dr. Franxx yelled, "he can pilot no matter the position…" Dr. Franxx paused, looking at the tactical map displayed on another screen, "he needs to survive this, his status as a special specimen doesn't do him justice, not now."

"Sir we can pull him back," Hachi interjected, "if he is of critical importance to your research."

"No," said Nana, "Hiro stands as the only motivation for the rest of the squads, pulling him back from the field would only serve to demoralize them."

"Leave him," Dr. Franxx said, "he can fight this one last time."

* * *

Strelizia dropped to a knee, its faceplate no longer mimicking Zero Two's expressions.

"Darling?" Zero Two turned around, the paracapcity hood sliding back into its idle position as she postured up out of the piloting holes. Her eyes met Hiro's, or rather the discs that looked oddly like hers, scarily like hers. She had seen herself in the mirror, she knew her eyes were unique, only to her. Or at least they used to be. His eyes now were lined in blue, a small sliver that mirrored hers, and from the top of his head protruded two slightly bloodied blue horns. His face had paled slightly to the same pallor as hers. "Darling?!" Zero Two panicked, pulling herself up to him.

"Zero Two," mumbled Hiro as he looked around with a dazed confusion on his face, "what happened?"

"No… no…" Zero Two repeated over and over, "no… you can't… you can't be like me."

"Be like you?" asked Hiro as he closed an eye, the blood had begun to trickle down; he paused for a moment, taking the time to wipe his eye, "what do you mean?"

"You…" Zero Two looked away, "it's my fault… all my fault…"

"Is this about the accident?" asked Hiro, still dumbfounded at the sudden mess he was being presented with.

She reached up, grasping onto the top of his head with a leverage he hadn't experienced before in his life, it was almost as if there were two new additions to the top of his skull that he hadn't remembered being there before, "I did this… I did this…"

Hiro reached up, tracing his fingers along Zero Two's arms stopping at the sharp points that weren't hers. "Oh," Hiro gasped in pleasant and stunned surprise, "I'm like you now…"

"I'm sorry," cried Zero Two, "it should have been me!"

Hiro looked down as Zero Two crumpled into his chest, much in the same way that she had when they first reunited in the dorm, he hated seeing her like this. He reached behind her shoulders and pressed her to him, squeezing her in a warm embrace, "don't cry, please don't cry; I'm alright, I'm fine."

"They're going to call you a monster," sobbed Zero Two, "why do you have to sacrifice so much for me, it's not fair!" she thumped her chest, trying to beat the pain into her.

"I don't care if they do; I don't care if its fair," Hiro reassured her, arresting her arm, "if It means I can be closer to you then that's alright." He lifted her face from his chest, kissing her trembling lips. He pulled away, watching her calm down slightly before continuing, "I love you too much to care about all that small stuff."

* * *

Ichigo was concerned; not a single word had come from Strelizia in the past ten minutes, and the last Gutenberg class was due to fall at any minute. They should have been gone by now, descending onto the dome of the gran crevasse in order to open it. Instead, Ichigo turned around to see Strelizia with a knee in the dirt; the pose usually assumed when the Franxx suddenly lost both of its pilots.

"Ichigo?" asked Goro from his seat, "what's the matter?"

"She's doing it again," Ichigo flared with anger, "what a sneaky bitch!"

"What are you talking about?"

Delphinium surged forwards, charging towards Strelizia, Goro fighting on the controls. Hiro's face appeared on the HUD, the still image representing him lacking the recent additions to his visage, "We're okay Ichigo, continue on with the mission."

"She's using you isn't she?!"

"No," Hiro replied, "I wish you would understand that; I'll explain what happened back at Mistelteinn, in the dorms… it's a long story."

"Just tell me already!"

"I can't," Hiro laughed a little, "I have a Gran Crevasse to capture."

With those words Strelizia's faceplate came alive, the entire Franxx turning red as they surged forwards; faster than any Franxx before. Ichigo could almost see the shockwave that preceded them as they flashed towards the dome of the gran crevasse. The scorching afterburner of Strelizia's jet skirt still leaving an imprint on her vision as they blipped out of sight at the base of the dome.

"Woah," Zorome gasped over the comm in sheer awe, "why can't we ride like that?"

"Maybe if you were more gentle," grumbled Miku, "we coul-"

The sky erupted into a ball of fire as a large explosion rocketed up towards the stars. In a moment later, a shockwave barreled back towards them, cutting Miku off mid-sentence. The dome having disintegrated in the detonation left the gran crevasse to appear in the settling cloud of dust. It was a hole, no words could describe it past that, and it left Squad 13 along with some of Hiro's fighters wondering what the significance of it was.

* * *

Hachi looked up at the crevasse along with Dr. Franxx in Cerasus' command center.

"What a waste of time," scoffed the doctor as he turned to leave, "about as useful as banging your head on a wall."

"Hachi 13 reporting into Papa," Hachi spoke into the comm, "the gran crevasse has been secured, the special specimens are alive."

"Good," Papa spoke, "allow your squad to get some rest, I expect a report by tomorrow."

"Yes Papa."

As Hachi turned to leave Papa spoke one last haunting time, "I understand that you had to disobey my direct orders in order to capture this objective; an honest and understandable mistake… one that you should never make again, for your own sake."

* * *

 **Afterword** : So to clear up some confusion. Yes, there are multiple Hachi's and Nanas, which is why Nana seems so impersonal in the firs segment of the chapter (good 'ol fake Nana). The next chapter will be announced four days before it's release. Become a patron if ya want.


End file.
